HUNTER'S CHOICE: Waterfowl hunters have choices to 
make. We'll explain on Passport to Texas ... 
____________________________________________________________

PTT from TPWD and the Wildlife Restoration Program

Waterfowlers in Texas - and four other Central Flyway 
states - will participate in a Multi-year pilot program 
called Hunter's Choice.
 
Hunter's Choice is just a new way of looking at bag limits in 
duck hunting. 

Dave Morrison is waterfowl program leader at Texas 
Parks and Wildlife. 
 
What we're trying to do with Hunter's Choice, is simplify the 
regulations process. Rather than have a closed season, or a 
season within a season, Hunter's Choice will provide 
opportunity for the entire season on species like pintail and 
canvasback ... But they'll be in an aggregate bag, which means if 
you shoot a pintail, you can't shoot a canvasback, or a hen 
mallard, or a mottled duck. But you can do it the entire season. 
So when the hunter's out there, he has a choice - a choice of 
which one do I want to shoot. 

Hunters Choice provides protection for certain ducks, 
while eliminating closed seasons, or seasons within a 
season, which can be confusing, while maintaining liberal 
seasons for those species doing well. It also reduces the 
daily bag limit from six to five. 

The second choice a hunter has to make is do I want to shoot 
five drake mallards, five gadwall, five teal ... or do I want to shoot 
four of those and one of the aggregate bag? That's all it is. It's 
just a different way of looking at how you harvest ducks. 

The Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series, and 
also works to increase shooting and hunting 
opportunities in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti.